Contact with competitors, negotiations with customers or gathering market intelligence can pose a high risk of competition law compliance issues arising and it is easy to cross the line between legitimate and illegitimate contact. As the mere receipt of information may give rise to anti-competitive practice, it is never safe to discuss confidential strategic information with competitors or customers. This guide provides key information for sales and marketing staff to help you recognise competition law compliance issues and respond appropriately to these issues. 1 Contact with competitors This section contains some simple dos and do nots when in contact with competitors. Do Do not Leave any meetings where others engage in improper discussions, and ensure your departure is on the record.Seek advice from [insert, eg the legal team] before discussing with a competitor or entering:—joint venture agreements;—cooperation agreements, eg R&D, sales, promotions, marketing, etc;—shareholder and alliance agreements;—agenda, minutes and contacts with trade associations;—any contact between competitors relating to commercial strategy where this is not publicly available.Report

To be read aloud by the Chair at the beginning of any meeting/gathering where competitors are present. [insert organisation name] [and all its business units] complies with high standards of business behaviour. It has always been and will continue to be the policy of [insert organisation

1 Policy details 1.1 Association: [insert trade association name] 1.2 Policy owner: [insert legal or compliance contact] 1.3 Effective date: [insert date] 1.4 Next review date: [insert date] 2 Purpose and scope 2.1 [Insert trade association name] (the Association) brings together businesses and professionals operating in [insert industry, profession or sector] to [insert the Association's legitimate purpose]. The Association supports lawful collaboration that benefits its members, customers and the wider industry. 2.2 Because Members may compete with one another as sellers, purchasers, bidders or employers, all Association Activities must preserve each Member's independent commercial decision-making and comply with Competition Law. This Policy explains the rules that apply and the steps Participants must take if a concern arises. 2.3 This Policy applies to all Association Activities, wherever and however they take place. It applies to Association staff and officers, committee and working group members, Member representatives, non-member attendees, speakers, advisers and any other person participating in Association Activities. Each Member remains responsible for its own conduct and for complying with any stricter internal policy or local law that applies to it. 2.4 This Policy does not replace legal advice. Participants must contact the

To be read aloud by the Chair at the beginning of all meetings of [insert trade association name] The purpose of [insert trade association name] is to [insert the legitimate, pro-competitive purpose(s) of the trade association]. Legitimate activities may include representing the industry, responding to public consultations, promoting safety and training, conducting research, and developing technical standards. These activities can benefit members, customers and consumers. However, because the Association brings together businesses that may compete as sellers, purchasers, bidders or employers, all participants, including non-member attendees, must act consistently with the Association's purpose and values, preserve independent commercial decision-making and comply with EU and applicable national competition law. This reminder supplements the Association's competition law policy. [[The agenda has been reviewed by Legal or Competition Counsel, who is [present/available] to advise.]] Article 101 TFEU prohibits agreements between undertakings, decisions by associations of undertakings and concerted practices that may affect trade between Member States and have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion

To be read aloud by the Chair at the beginning of all meetings of [insert trade association name] The purpose of [insert trade association name] is to [insert the legitimate, pro-competitive purpose(s) of the trade association]. Legitimate activities may include representing the industry, responding to government and regulatory consultations, promoting safety and training, conducting research, and developing technical standards. These activities can benefit members, customers and consumers. However, because the Association brings together businesses that may compete as sellers, purchasers, bidders or employers, all participants, including non-member attendees, must act consistently with the Association's purpose and values, preserve independent commercial decision-making and comply with UK competition law. This reminder supplements the Association's competition law policy. [[The agenda has been reviewed by Legal or Competition Counsel, who is [present/available] to advise.]] The Chapter I prohibition in the Competition Act 1998 prohibits agreements between businesses, decisions by trade associations and concerted practices that may affect trade within the UK and have as their object or effect the prevention,

Industry associations can serve useful, pro-competitive purposes, but the risk of encountering a competition law issue in the context of trade associations is significant. This guide is an information resource about competition law compliance risk in the context of trade associations. 1 [ Joining a trade association You must inform [insert, eg the legal department] if you are joining a trade association. See our [Contact with competitor form].] 2 Trade association meetings 2.1 Before attending a meeting 2.1.1 Insist on an agenda. 2.1.2 Review the agenda in advance: (a) satisfy yourself that agenda topics are permissible (see sections 2.2 and 4); (b) if in doubt, seek advice from [insert, eg the legal team] or, if there is no time to seek advice, do not attend the meeting. 2.2 Topics of conversation to avoid Just as you must avoid discussing sensitive business topics with competitors during informal meetings, you must avoid these sorts of discussions in the context of trade associations. This includes conversations with competitors during formal trade association meetings, related social events and casual encounters before or after trade association meetings or social events. Topics to avoid discussing

As products become more technically complex and contain integrated technologies and features, the issues around whether tying and bundling could be perceived as being anti-competitive become more complicated. This checklist is intended to assist you in considering relevant competition law factors before tying or bundling products. Always seek guidance from [insert, eg the legal team] as required below and if you have any questions or concerns. 1 Products and market Consider whether the products that are bundled or tied can be considered distinct products. Can the products that are bundled or tied be considered distinct products? □ Yes—refer to [insert, eg the legal team] as bundling may have a negative effect on suppliers of stand-along products and so damage competition □ No [Insert comments] Do other organisations

Behaviour red flags are situations which should cause you to ask questions. These factors do not automatically mean that anti-competitive behaviour is taking place, they are merely indicators. However, you should pay particular attention where a number of these factors are present, while remembering that just one of these red flags may of itself be a sign of anti-competitive behaviour. Although difficult to detect, there are many circumstances that signal the existence of anti-competitive behaviour. This awareness tool features

This form is for use if you have any concerns relating to competition law compliance. These may be concerns about actions by, for example, this organisation, a competitor or actions of a customer. Concerns may arise in the context of meeting with competitors, receiving information from or about competitors, trade association membership, through sales or PR activities, or in any other context where competition

This Competition law concern report register is designed to help you keep a record of suspected competition law concerns reported in your organisation. It can be used to help you record, manage and monitor these concerns. Please

Aim of competition due diligence Competition law due diligence carried out by a prospective purchaser aims to manage and minimise legal and commercial risk. The exercise has particular implications for the purchase price negotiated, the type/scope of contractual protections and guarantees sought and the degree of risk sharing (if any) the purchaser may be willing to assume in order to get the deal done. On this basis, a due diligence review will look to flush out and identify: • potential substantive issues that may result from a merger of competing or vertically complementary businesses • problems regarding enforcement of (and potential liability stemming from) a target company's key commercial contracts and/or licensing arrangements • any risk in relation to potential or pending investigations resulting from ongoing or past anti-competitive agreements/conduct • any risk in relation to the direct or indirect receipt of State aid, subsidies or other financial advantages that might need to be repaid, and • exposure to third party damage claims as a result of established or alleged competition law infringements Such considerations will not, however,

What is copyright? Copyright protects the original expression of an author’s ideas, rather than the ideas themselves. It does not confer a monopoly on the copyright holder. Works which are similar or identical to a copyright work can therefore coexist lawfully provided they are not unauthorised copies. In the EU and the UK, copyright applies automatically and does not require registration. Copyright protection generally covers original: musical, dramatic, literary, and artistic works (all of which must be recorded in some form); sound recordings; films; typographical arrangements of published editions and broadcasts; databases (which may be covered by a database right or copyright); source code, user code and preparatory design material, in certain circumstances a user interface, logic, algorithms or programming languages. Exhaustion of rights and parallel trade within the EEA Existence v exercise Central to the philosophy of the EU are the rules which ensure the free movement of goods between Member States (the free-movement rules). Article 34 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)